LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Clark County School District launched a community-wide initiative to help raise early childhood literacy rates in the Las Vegas valley.

CCSD, joined with Teach For America Nevada, Spread the Word Nevada, and the Lifting Literacy Liberation, launched the “Read With Me NV” at a news conference on Thursday, Oct. 9.

The goal of the program? To raise third-grade literacy proficiency to 64% by 2030.

In Clark County, only about 2 in 5 third-grade students read at grade level during the 2024-2025 school year, according to New Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) scores.

“Children who don’t read on grade level by third grade are four times less likely to graduate high school, limiting their future opportunities and economic mobility,” a release said.

Data shows that third-grade literacy proficiency rates have risen in the past few years, from 32% during the 2020-2021 school year to 39% during the 2022-2023 school year to 44% last school year.

The new campaign aims to “rally parents, educators, and community members around the importance of early childhood literacy and the role everyone plays in helping children succeed academically and in life.”

On the campaign’s website, families, educators, and community members can take literacy pledges, along with ways they can get involved. The approach of the campaign focuses on research-based strategies across every layer of the education system, the site said.

The educator page on the Read With Me NV includes resources of different kinds, including Nevada-specific resources, resources for bilingual and multilingual students, and resources for struggling readers and readers with dyslexia.

The parents’ page offers tips for parents who want to improve their child’s literacy, including reading together every day, talking with their child, and more resources for parents to explore.